As long as we both breathe
by eme287
Summary: While visiting a small hunted town in northern USA, Sam and Dean come across something more dangerious than they first anticipated. Can they save everyone before it's too late? And who is the mysterious girl wandering around town? Dean/Other character
1. Hunted mansion

"Sammy, get down!" Sam heard his brother shouting from across the room. Without thinking he instantly threw himself on the old, half rotten, wooden floor before the ancient sword nearly decapitated him. He landed with a load thud and felt the wood chips pressing through his palms. There was no time to think before he rolled over and away from the angry ghost before it swung the sword against him a second time. It landed no more than a few inches away from his head and its sharp edges cracked the floor open even more.

"Sam!" Dean continued. "A little help over here!" Dean, who had been forced into a corner, was now receiving one punch after another from various flying objects. The spirits were literally throwing furniture on him. Sam looked around for the black book. _It must be somewhere, _he thought as he continued to avoid the flying sword. He had dropped the book somewhere on the floor when he and Dean had been thrown into one of the walls earlier. Apparently the restless souls didn't like unannounced visits.

_Son of a…_ Something hard hit him with great force in his stomach and forced him down on the floor. His knees hit the cold floorboards almost immediately. He steadied himself by his hands to push himself up on two feet again. A quick glance around the room was enough. There it was. The book. It was lying beneath one of the two armchairs near the window. He moved as quickly as possible, away from flying baseball bat that had just knocked him down. He threw himself on the floor, grabbed the medallion from his inner pocket of the thin jacket and started to read the text from the marked piece of paper inside the book. He had done this a hundred times before and wasn't surprised when the Latin words started floating from his lips. He ignored the alarming screams as the ghost got even angrier and continued with the reading. The trick was to always maintain self-control. That could be the different between life and death. An enormous whirlwind was formed in the center of the room as he was about to finish the last sentences. And then it became quiet. It was finally over. For this time.

"Dean, you okey?" He asked when saw his brother lying in the corner and cough.

"Super", Dean said sarcastically. "That was some angry son of bitches!"

"Eighty years of built up anger." Sam stated as he stood up and brushed away the dust from his jacket. He put away the book and the medallion in his left pocket and went to help Dean find his balance back.

"Thanks" Dean mumbled as he accepted Sam's helping hand. He winced at the soreness in his whole body when he, with the help of Sam, pulled himself up in a standing position. "Damn, this is going to hurt tomorrow." He stated as he regarded himself in the old broken mirror on the wall behind him. _Two black eyes and a cracked lip. What a sight he would be. _"What was that anyway? I've never seen such powerful ghosts before." Dean continued.

"Me neither. No wonder people were acting so strangely and started killing each other around here. They could probably feel their presence all around town."

"What, like a possession?"

"No, not a possession in a typical term." He thought about it for a second. "Dean, I think their emotions were powerful enough to affect the people in town."

"So…whatever the ghosts were feeling, the people were feeling too?"

"Exactly. And the angrier the ghosts were…"

"…the crazier the people became." He sighed deeply. "Let's get out of here. This house still gives me the creeps."

It was nearly midnight when Dean and Sam exited the ramshackle mansion. It was a clear night and the stars were visible on the dark sky above their heads. Dean drew in a deep breath and started to walk, along with Sam, towards his one and only true love. His 1967 Chevrolet Impala were parked at a safely distant from the house. Just in case. He couldn't risk it, _her, _being wrecked once again. It was painfully enough the first time. He fingered for the keys in his pocket and was just about to open the door when a voice forced him to look up and turn around.

"Well, well, well… what do we have here?" Four men dressed in dark clothes showed up from behind the trees. "If it isn't the Winchester-boys", he continued with a hint of disgust in his deep voice. He made a high fifteen-feet long jump and landed dangerously closer to the two brothers. The other three men growled and followed his move. "Just great", Dean muttered to himself.

"You two got quite a reputation." He hissed between his two fangs.

"If you want our autographs all you have to do is ask." Dean told the four vampires as they were closing in on them. His words were directed towards the first vampire. This one was most likely to be the leader of this small group.

"Dean, is it?" He said keeping his gaze. "You shouldn't be too cocky, you know. It might just get you killed one day." He showed off an evil smile when his three companions let out a load chuckle. The leader vampire continued his walk around the car. "So this must be Sam. I heard you have a certain… gift." He said putting particular force in the last word. "You should join us Sam. A vampire with demon power could be quite useful."

"Go the hell", Sam hissed and wished he had a power that would work on vampires.

"What do you want", Dean asked forcefully from the other side of the car. The vampire let go of Sam's stare and simply smiled at him.

"Still don't get it huh. And here I thought the two of you would be the smart ones." He started walking around the car again. Like a predator circling his meal. "It's quite sad actually." Without hesitation he took a hold of Dean's collar and threw him across the yard in front of the house.

"Dean!" Sam shouted and started to run towards him. He didn't get very far before a second vampire stood in his way and threw him back towards the car.

The leader did another high jump and landed just in front of Dean. "Poor Dean", he started and tilted his head to the side. "To hell and back. That must have been rough for you."

"If you are going to kill us, just do it and get it over with", Dean was getting impatient. If there was something he really hated, it was when he felt like a stupid toy in a stupid game.

"There are rumors you know", The vampire continued while ignoring Dean's comment. "About your… _accomplishments_ in hell. Maybe you are not as different from a demon as you thought you were."

Dean looked away. "Hit a nerve, did we?" The vampire was satisfied, now he had something to work with.

"Latoy!" The calling for his name made the leader turn around. His gaze was caught by a shining arrow traveling with high velocity through the air towards one of his companions. It hit him right in the heart. He vanished right before his eyes.

"This isn't over." He explained to Dean before he and the two remaining vampires disappeared as quickly as they had come. Sam took his chance and ran for his brother.

"What the hell was that?" Dean asked as he for the second time in the latest hour was helped to his feet by Sam.

"I don't know." Sam answered. "I think maybe we were saved."

"Saved? By what?" Dean continued and brushed away the dirt from his pants.

"You boy's know there is a nest just around the corner, right?" Another voice emerged from the darkness. Sam and Dean turned around, ready to strike with force if necessary. Next to their car was a young woman in her mid twenties. Her blonde hair was pulled up in a ponytail and she stood calm as a mountain on a sunny day, waiting for them to respond.

"What?" She said when no one broke the silence. "Not going to thank me?" She pretended to sound said but her face gave her away.

"Who are you?" Dean asked forcefully. He really didn't want to bump into another demon. _Please don't be a demon_.

"Isabelle." She answered in a sweet British accent and leaned against the car, careful not to scratch it. Her confidence was glowing.

"Isabelle?"

"Isabelle." She simply stated and kept her eyes on them. Sam and Dean shared a look. The female was waiting for them to make a move. At least she didn't look dangerous. But nowadays you really couldn't be too careful.

"Bow and arrow huh?" Dean stated when they reached the car and pointed to the weapons on her back.

"Silver arrows." She explained with a smile. "The best way to kill a vampire."

"Nice aim by the way. Right in the heart." Sam pointed out.

"As my dad used to say; Practice makes perfect."

"Oh, so you've been doing this for a while?" Dean asked. "Hunting vampires?"

She gave him a crocked smile. "Sure, I guess you could say that." She said and glanced at the car to her right. "Well, you should probably get out of here. The two of you look pretty banged up." Sam and Dean studied each other's battered faces. They looked like they had been in a fight with a ten people army and five very pissed off bulldogs. Dean was already dreading the pain he would feel when he opened his eyes in the morning. This was the disadvantage of being a hero in secret.

"Yeah, probably." Sam said. "I'm Sam by the way…" He reached out his hand in greeting. "…and this is…"

"Dean." She interrupted. "Yeah, I know who you are." She explained when she was met by two surprised pair of eyes. She took Dean's hand. She felt warm and soft against his skin. _Definitely not the cold skin of a vampire_, he thought and let her hand slip out of his grip. "As the vampire said, the two of you have quite a reputation around here." She continued and moved further away from the car. She sighed. "Well, I should probably get going."

"Need a ride?" Dean heard himself ask and received a look from Sam. They couldn't possibly leave this girl alone here in no man's land. Not after she'd saved both of their lives. "Into town I mean. We're going that way anyway."

She smiled. "Thanks, but that won't be necessary. I have my motorcycle parked behind that hill over there." She said and pointed somewhere in the dark. "And it would be highly impractical to leave it there considering the amount of time it would take for me to walk up here tomorrow just to get it." She said and continued backing away from them. "You guys drive safely and I'll see you around." She stated with a smile and left the brothers alone by the car before neither one of them had a chance to say anything more.

"What just happened?" Dean asked while watching the intriguing girl stride further and further away from them.

"I think we just met our first vampire slayer."


	2. Bella

"Man that felt nice." Dean pointed out as he exited the bathroom with nothing but a towel around his waist. The long steaming shower he'd recently taken had been much longed-for.

"I bet", Sam stated. "Leave any hot water for me?" he asked and his question was quickly answered by a satisfied smile from his brother. "Yeah, I thought so."

"Find anything on this chick yet?" Dean asked as he limped towards one of the two single beds.

"Nothing."

"What about Bobby?"

"He's never heard of a young female vampire slayer before, but he's gonna look around." Sam answered looking up from the book. Dean nodded and sat down at the end of the bed. He winced at the soreness in his back when he carefully leaned backwards.

"Man this hurt." He whined.

"You took quite a few blows tonight." Sam stated while keeping his eyes on the book in front of him.

"I'm telling you Sam, I'm getting real tired of this." He said closing his tired eyes.

Sam sighed and put down the book on the table. "Me too." He said rubbing his eyes with his sore palms. He left the chair he'd been sitting on for the last hour and a half and walked up to the small window facing the parking lot. The lot was not surprisingly empty when he opened the blinds with one of his fingers and peaked out through the narrow opening. "Dean." He said still looking out into the dark night.

"Mhmm." Dean mumbled half asleep.

"I've been thinking."

"About what?"

"About the ghosts."

"What about them?"

"You know how strangely powerful they were. It made me think that maybe there are more to this than meets the eye." When he didn't hear an answer from Dean he continued. "Do you remember the zombies we came across a couple of months ago. That was just a few miles away from this place."

"How can I forget? They nearly ate me alive Sam." Dean answered and shivered at the memory.

"Don't you remember how hard it was to kill them? None of the spells in the beginning worked."

"So?"

"So, don't you get it? I think something in the area is giving them _more_ strength than usual?" He gave Dean a chance to think about it.

"Maybe." Dean said. "But we won't be able to do anything until tomorrow so we might as well get some sleep." Sam heard him say. He knew he was right, there was nothing they could do about it. Not tonight anyway.

"I'm gonna take a shower." Sam said and started walking towards the bathroom, very well aware of the cold water that awaited him.

* * *

The next morning they drove in silence to a diner they'd been passing by the previous night on their way back to the motel. It had been a long night and neither one of them had gotten a lot of sleep. Dean glanced at his watch. Almost 9.30 AM he recognized before he continued observing the empty road in front of him.

"This really is a ghost town." He stated.

"No kidding." Sam said looking out through the passenger window. "Where is everybody?"

"Maybe they've come to their senses and gone home to pack their belongings and leave this godforsaken town." His car came to a stop in front of a low brick house and both of them glanced at the big yellow bold letters above the door. _Jerry's_ it said.

"Well, here it is. Let's hope they have something good because I'm starving." Dean said and got out of the car while Sam followed his move. "I could probably eat an entire cow right about now." Dean shut the car door forcefully behind him before he joined Sam on the sidewalk.

As soon as they entered through the door and heard the tinkle of the doorbell every eye in the diner were on them. No one trusted a stranger in a small town like this. Especially not in a town where weird things were happening to its people.

"I guess we solved the mystery with the missing people." Dean said quietly to Sam when he saw the crowded room. He smiled uncomfortable as they desperately searched for a place to sit.

"You've got to be kidding me." Dean suddenly mumbled when he caught sight of a familiar face further back in the room.

"What?" Sam followed Dean's gaze. Back in the far corner, next to the window, sat a young blond woman and smiled at them. She waved them over as soon as she knew they'd noticed her.

"Wait!" Sam said grabbing Dean's arm when he saw him move in her direction. "You're not going over there, are you? She could be a demon for all we know."

"A demon that spends her time killing vampires? Come on Sam, don't be ridiculous." He said and continued to walk towards Isabelle as soon as Sam let go of his jacket.

"Hi, I figured you would come so I saved you a seat" She said and nodded her head at the empty seats in front of her.

"Isabelle right?" Dean asked.

"Please call me Bella," she answered with her soft British accent. "No one ever calls me Isabelle anymore."

"So Bella…," Dean said and looked at Sam "… how'd you know we would come?"

She shrugged her shoulders while they suspiciously joined her at the table. "Only diner in town. I figured you would show up sooner or later." She said and tucked her long blonde hair behind her ears before taking a quick sip of the hot coffee in front of her. "You should order something." She continued and waved friendly her hand at someone, most likely one of the waitresses running around between the tables. "You must be starving after a night like that. How are you feeling by the way?" She asked and nodded at Dean's black eye.

"Don't worry. It's nothing I can't handle." He said proudly and leaned against the table with his arms crossed, he hated when people patronized him. "I guess it could have gone a lot worse if you hadn't showed when you did. What exactly were you doing out there?" Bella smiled at his attempt to sound tough and looked out the window. Dark clouds were beginning to cover up the previously blue sky. It shouldn't be long now before the rain would start falling she predicted. She looked back at the two boys sitting across the table, eying her, waiting for her to give them some answers. _What could she say? That the end of the world was near and that the people around this very table were the only ones that could prevent that from happening. _

"Bella?" A harsh voice brought her back from her thoughts and she smiled at the slightly overweight middle-aged women looking down at her. She was thankful for the interruption.

"Hi, Ruth. I thought you were off today?"

"So did I," she said with a hint of sadness in her deep voice. "Sally is home sick today, someone had to cover for her."

"I'm sorry. I know you were looking forward to seeing your granddaughter."

"Don't worry about it. Jerry and I are visiting them this weekend instead." She said and turned her entire attention towards Dean and Sam. "So…," she started. "Who are your friends?"

"Oh, sorry. Ruth, this is Sam and Dean. Sam and Dean, this is Ruth." She introduced them. "Ruth owns the place." She explained.

Ruth gave them both a friendly nod. "What happened to your face?" She asked curiously and regarded Dean's bruises.

"I was hit by a car." He said not caring whether she believed it or not.

"Ouch. It wasn't someone from around here, was it?" She asked and wondered why nobody had mentioned anything about this to her.

"No," Dean started. "No one from around here."

"So…" She thought for a second, "… what brings you boys to town?"

"Just visiting a friend." Sam lied.

"Anyone I know?"

"I doubt it." He said, not liking her nosiness.

"Sam and Dean are going to stay in town for a while." Bella said trying to prevent the conversation from taking an ugly turn.

"We are?" Dean and Sam asked simultaneously and looked awkwardly at each other.

"Well, aren't you?" Bella asked and gave Dean a harsh look.

"Of course." He played along. "Of course we are staying for a while. We have some business to attend to."

"Riiight..." Ruth trailed off, now more curious than ever. She'd never bumped into anyone who willingly wanted to spend more than one day in this insignificant little town. _Maybe, they are related to Joan Wilkings who passes away last week?_ She made a mental note to ask her neighbor. She always seemed to know everything about everyone around here. "… so, are you ready to order?" She asked the young group and armed herself with a tiny notepad and a sharp pencil. She could find out what these two boys were up to later.

"We'll have three toasts and some more coffee, please" Bella said before neither Dean nor Sam had a chance to open their mouths. She waited patiently for Ruth to make her notes and fingered in the mean time on the empty coffee cup in front of here.

"Anything else, dear?"

"No thank you, that's fine for now." Ruth gave Bella a friendly smile before she disappeared behind the counter.

"You're really gonna like this, they have the best toast ever." She told Dean and Sam when they were left alone again.

"Right."

"What was that about?" Sam wondered with a hint of irritability in his voice.

"What was what?" Bella asked. "Oh, you mean the _staying in town_ part? I just assumed that with everything going on around here you would stay for more than just one night."

"What exactly is going on around here?" Sam wondered and let his eyes wander through the crowded room.

"Look," Bella started and leaned forward. "I don't really have It all figured out just yet. Right know I probably don't know more than the two of you, but what I do know is that there is a lot more to this than a few angry ghosts and some very pissed off vampires." She looked at a spot behind Sam's head and leaned herself back against the seat again. Ruth and another waitress, Susan, were eying them from across the room with curiosity written all over their faces. She sighed. "After breakfast I'll tell you everything I know," she told them still keeping her eyes on the two chatterladies. "I promise. These walls have too many ears for this kind of talk."

"And you'll tell us everything? About who you are and what you're doing here?" There was a hint of frustration behind Sam's words.

Bella chuckled lightly. "Who I am is not important." She said and gave them a secretive smile that told them she trusted them as much as they trusted her. "The important thing is that we stop whatever the hell is happening... before it's too late."

"If this is a trick I swear to god…" Dean hissed between his teeth.

"No trick. I promise." Bella interrupted him lifting her hands in a protecting manner.

"Here we go." Ruth interrupted them. "Coffee and three toasts."

"Thank you Ruth. And I'm buying so can you please put the tab on me?"

"Sure, no problem honey", Ruth said and reluctantly left Bella alone with the mysterious boys again.

"Now… let's eat." Bella continued and tried to lighten up the horrible atmosphere between them. _This was going to be tougher than she thought. _She reached out for the ketchup bottle standing in the middle of the table. Gently she squeezed the bottle and let the red purée land between the two pieces of bread in front of her.

"Man, this _is_ good." Dean said sounding surprised after taking a first bite of the toast.

"I told you." Bella said and took a big chunk of the warm sandwich in her mouth. She closed her eyes to savor the taste. "Mm, I've been coming here every day for the past month or so just to order these toasts." She continued with a full mouth and wiped her hands on a napkin.

"A month huh? Do you live in the area or are you just visiting?" Sam wondered.

She looked up at him. "A little bit of both actually." She said and took a sip of her coffee.

"How can you do both? Either you live here or you don't."

"Fine. I'm visiting." She admitted. "But I've been living with Jerry and Ruth for a couple of weeks now. I rent their garage."

"You mean Mrs Sherlock over there?" Dean said referring to her nosiness. "How does that work out for you?" he asked mockingly.

"Yeah, Ruth is, for the lack of better word, this town's very own tattletale." Bella responded. "But at least it's better than staying at a motel. Where are you staying by the way?"

"Fisherman's motel next to the main road."

She wrinkled her nose. "You can't be serious. It looks like a bloody shed ready to fall apart at any minute." She burst out, making her British accent sound even more evident.

"At least it's cheap." Sam defended it, but was very well aware of the condition of the building.

"I guess so."

The rain was rattling on the window as they finished the rest of their breakfast in a somewhat uncomfortable silence. Bella gazed occasionally on Dean's half battered face. He looked tired she noticed, as did Sam. No wonder, she thought and remembered her first meeting with a vampire at the age of fifteen. She knew she wasn't ready and still she'd taken her father's crossbow and gone into the woods alone one night, determined to try and make this world a better place. She'd been so naive. The first thing the vampire had done was to knock the crossbow right out of her small hands. She'd probably not been alive today if it hadn't been for that hunter. While she had been lying on the ground, floating between life and death, the hunter had without hesitation ended the creature's life. She knew she'd been lucky that time. A shill went through her body and she looked across the table again. Dean and Sam had already devoured their sandwiches and were now waiting for her to finish up.

"Shall we?" She said and rose from the chair.


	3. Mystical forest

"You never answered my question?" Dean said to Bella as they walked out from the diner together. He was glad breakfast was finally over, the mood had occasionally made him want to kill himself. "What exactly were you doing out there in the woods last night? I'm guessing it wasn't just to save us from being vampire-dinner." They stayed close to the house wall, seeking shelter from the pouring rain.

"What if it was? What else is there to do around here than chasing bloodsucking creatures?" She said keeping her eyes on the wet pavement in front of her. She took a deep breath. God, she loved the smell in the air when it rained, so fresh and pure. It felt cleansing.

"Right" He said and followed her gaze.

"Quit playing around and tell us what the hell you want." Sam said, obviously irritated by way she avoided their questions.

She glanced at the car parked on the street. "How long have you had that car?" She asked and nodded towards Dean's Chevrolet, ignoring Sam's comment.

"That's none of your business." He stated and crossed his arms over his chest. She looked over at him and sighed.

"Tell you what, take me for a ride and I'll tell you everything I know." Dean glanced over at his brother. Was she kidding him?

"Is that some kind of a joke? You said that you would tell us everything as soon as we left the diner. And guess what? We've left the diner."

"Technically I said that I would tell you everything _after breakfast_. And that could be anytime of the day. Or even tomorrow." She bit her lip when she noticed Sam's frantic face. "You really should relax Sam, you'll get wrinkles." She said with the same agitated tone he'd just used on her. She sighed again and tried to calm herself down. There was no point getting upset. "Listen, if you're really going to understand what's going on around here I need to show you something first." She told them truthfully and hoped that that was all she needed to say to convince them to trust her. She looked over at the empty playground across the street. Only a month ago children had swung on those swing sets, playing on that slide and generally had a good time just being kids. "I know you don't trust me, and frankly I wouldn't trust me either if I were in your shoes…" she started. "… but I promise, I have no reason to use you in any sort of way. And if I'd wanted to kill you I would have let the vampires do the dirty work for me last night."

Sam and Dean stared at each other for a moment. She was right. If she wanted them dead they probably would be already.

"You have nothing to lose." She reminded them and to her delight Dean started to dug into his pocket, fishing for his car keys.

"Let's go then." He said and walked out into the rain.

* * *

"Turn here." Bella said and pointed towards a small gravel road in front of them. Due to the dense vegetation it was almost invisible with the naked eye. Bella sat in the backseat, leaning forward to be able to see out through the windshield. She'd been here so many times before that she now knew the way by heart.

"What is this place?" Sam asked as they turned left and continued to cruise between the trees.

"You could say that this is the place where the magic happens." She said and got a look from Dean in the rearview mirror. "Drive until you see a glade, it shouldn't be more than a few hundred meters."

"Meters?" Dean asked and raised his right eyebrow. "Let's stick to a measure system we can all understand." He teased.

Bella smiled lightly. "Sure."

They drove in silence for another minute or two. It was a bumpy road and Dean was careful to avoid stone damage to his beautiful car. He knew how expensive it would be to repair. Suddenly they were surrounded by light, the forest had opened up in front of them and the glade became visible. Dean stopped the engine. "What now?" He asked looking around for a clue, something she'd wanted them to see. But there was nothing there but a fallen tree and a few rocks of various sizes. He started to feel the insecurity grow inside of him. _Could she have fooled them? It wouldn't be the first time someone tried to do that. _He searched for his gun on the floor next to his feet, trying not to draw attention to himself. Sam saw what he was doing and gave him a discrete nod in his direction. They needed to be ready to defend themselves if necessary.

"Follow me." Bella said and got out of the car. It was unpleasantly chilly and the rain had subsided. She looked around for a moment before walking up to the fallen tree, keeping her back against the car and the two brothers. She felt them eyeing her, waiting for her to say something.

"There's nothing here. What the hell did you want to show us?" Sam nearly bellowed. When he didn't get an answer he turned to Dean. "Let's get out of here, she's just a stupid girl screaming for attention."

"We're already out here Sam, we might as well let her show whatever she wanted us to see."

Bella closed her eyes, hearing the agitated voices behind her.

"Do you feel it," She said calmly but still loud enough for them to hear. Her eyes were still shut as she continued to stand still with her back against them.

"Feel what, Bella?" Dean wondered. "There's nothing out here." She turned around to face them. They were still waiting by the car, ready to leave at any minute now. She knew she couldn't let that happen, she needed them by her side in this. Fighting this alone was not an option.

"You're saying you don't feel anything?" She wanted to know.

"I'm feeling kind of pissed off right about now." Dean said a little louder than necessary.

Her eyes lit up by his choice of words. "Precisely." She simply said. "Can you feel the anger boiling inside of you? Or the feeling of wanting to hit something, or someone?" She took a deep breath and clenched her fists. She could most definitely feel something herself.

"What are you talking about?" Sam tried unsuccessfully to loosen up.

"This is what I wanted to show you. This is why I brought you out here. There is something in the area that makes people want to kill each other. And I don't know what, and I don't know how or even why… I just… know." She said and forced herself to stay calm. She would lie if she said she couldn't feel the heat on her cheeks, or the blood pumping through her veins. But she was strong, a lot stronger than she looked. She knew how to control herself a lot better than anyone else might.

Sam and Dean stared at each other.

"I think she's on to something." Dean said to his brother. "I mean, you have been a little... touchy lately."

"What's that suppose to mean? Touchy? I'm not touchy."

"I'm just saying Sam, you haven't exactly been yourself since we got here."

"We need to get out of here." Bella continued and hurried towards the car. "Before we do something we would later regret."

Within ten seconds Dean was back behind the wheels of the car and drove forcefully away from the glade, stone damage or not. He could literally feel the anger leaving him the closer to town they got. He glanced to his right, Sam seamed calmer too. That's good.

They came to a stop outside the Fisherman's motel where he and Sam had spent the night. It was now eight minutes past two in the afternoon and the rain had yet again begun to fall from the dark sky.

"What the hell is going on here?" He asked calmly and stared at a spot on the dashboard.

"You tell me." Bella answered and leaned backwards against the seat. She was tired. She always felt drained after visiting that place. Still she didn't know why she insisted on going there. Maybe she was just as curious as everybody else in this damn small town, or maybe she simply wanted to tempt faith. She couldn't tell anymore.

"We should call Bobby." Sam said to Dean. "See if he knows something."

"Bobby?" Bella asked.

"A friend of ours. He if someone would know if something unusual was going on around here." He fished for the cell phone in his trousers and dialed the number before leaving the car along with the others.

"This Bobby, is he a hunter too?" Bella asked Dean as they left the parking lot and headed towards the motel room. Sam was already on the phone, explaining their eventful day to someone on the other line. He was walking a few feet behind them but she could still hear an occasional "yes" followed by a "thank you".

"He is. And a damn good one I might add. He would know what to do next." Dean reassured her and looked over at her pale face. She seemed uncertain and exhausted. There was still something she wasn't telling them, he was sure about it.

"Are you okay" He asked her and held the door for her.

"I'm fine, thank you" She gave him half a smile. "It's been one hell of a week that's all." They each took a chair around the circular table. Sam was still outside, talking to Bobby over the phone.

"What about you? Are you a hunter too?" Dean asked.

She rubbed her eyes and told herself there was no point keeping anything hidden anymore. It hadn't worked for her in the past and it would most definitely not work now. These were the guys she would have to work with from now on, the guys she would have to share her thoughts and ideas with. She just had to remember which secrets she couldn't let out. "My father was. I just picked up where he left off."

"He died?"

She looked at him across the table. "Is this an interrogation again?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm gonna leave it up to you whether you want to answer the question or not."

She chuckled lightly and gave him a sad smile. "My parents died when I was fourteen. My uncle taught me everything I know." Dean fought the urge to reach out for her hand that was lying vulnerable on the cold table.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"Everybody has their own sad little story." She said and caught his gaze. "I'm sure you have one too." She said letting him know she probably knew a bit more about him than he did about her.

"Bobby's gonna do some digging." Sam interrupted as he entered through the door and forced Dean and Bella to break eye contact. "But he knew about the weird activity over here. Something is definitely off." He tossed his wet jacket on a worn out armchair in the corner of the room and went to pick up his computer from under the bed. He wanted to check out the mail Bobby said he'd sent him.

"That's good." Dean told him and cleared his throat.

"Yeah, that's good." Bella agreed. "Listen guys, do you think you could give me a ride back into town. I'm feeling a bit tired."

"Sure, no problem." Dean got up from the chair. "If we're going to stay here for a while I need to make a quick stop at the grocery shop anyway."

"Pick up some chips" was the last thing they heard from Sam before they headed towards the parking lot.

* * *

The ride into town was quick, it wasn't more than a couple of miles.

"I'm sorry about Sam. He's not usually like this." He apologized when he came to a stop in front of Ruth's home, just around the corner from the diner where she and her husband Jerry worked.

"It's not his fault," she explained to defend Sam. "Some people are just more sensitive to this sort of thing than others. If he would just concentrate the anger will not affect him so much."

"Is that what you do? Concentrate?"

"I try." She answered. "I have to."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Haven't you asked me enough for today?" She chuckled lightly. "What do you want do know?"

"Why did you come here? You couldn't have known something was up until you got here and saw it for yourself. So… what brought you here in the first place?"

She bit her lip, a nervous habit she'd picked up a few years ago. "I followed a group of vampires here… and when I got here I noticed there was a whole nest that needed to be dealt with. So I stayed."

"And then weird things started to happen." It was more a statement than a question.

"And then weird things started to happen." She repeated.

They sat in silence for a moment. It felt nice, she thought. It had been a very long time since she'd been able to chare this, her life, with anybody.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" Dean asked and broke of the silence.

"Sure", she said reluctantly.

"How did your parents die?"

At first she didn't say anything, making Dean wonder if she'd even heard him, but before he could call her name she turned her head towards him.

"Car accident. They went over a bridge when we lived in London."

"You think there was anything… demonic behind it?"

"I now there was. My father was one of the greatest hunters in England, well known for his infinite knowledge and ability to fight of every demon he bumped into." She sighed and looked out through the windshield. "To say something demonic took his life is an understatement. He was wanted by every demon in Great Britain. His death was… unavoidable." She felt her eyes water but kept the tears from falling. She was good at that. "It was simply bad luck that my mother was there with him when it happened."

"I'm sorry."

"It was a long time ago, Dean." She looked at him again and gave him a crooked smile. "Can I ask you something too?"

He nodded.

"Are you happy? About how your life turned out?"

"You know, I used to love this hunting-thing in the beginning. I was always in control and felt invincible. Kicking a demon's ass was the best thing I knew, no one could touch me." He kept her gaze. "I was proud, you know, to follow my father's footsteps."

"But you're not happy?"

He looked away. "I wish I could say yes to that."

She nodded. "Thank you Dean." She said and touched him lightly on his arm before leaving him alone in the car. He knew that that "thank you" hadn't been for the lift into town.


End file.
